fixing things
by julyadrthesed
Summary: Tony is charged with treason a second time. Not only does it seem to Michele that he has been framed this time but last time as well. Can Michelle and Jack save him in time and if they do, will Tony and Michelle be able to put the past behind them?
1. Default Chapter

In this fic, Tony and Michelle haven't had any of the talks or small scenes that we've seen. They've gotten along for the sake of the country. Each avoiding each other as much as possible but wanting to say something. Just not knowing what to say. There is no Jen in this fic.

I do not own 24 or any of the characters, though I wish I did!

Chapter 1, history repeating

End of day 4.

The conference room was being filled. Bill and Hammond were already in there as was Audrey and her father. Jack and Tony were heading in and Michelle was on the phone. Curtis walked in as Michelle hung up.

When Michelle hung up, she smiled. Tony happened to look up. More like he felt her smiling so he looked up at her—her eyes were twinkling with happiness and he couldn't help but wonder what caused them to sparkle. She looked at him, made eye contact, and surprising him, her grin got even bigger.

Michelle nodded at Tony and took her seat. She could tell he was confused but now that she knew, or at least her suspicions had been confirmed… She couldn't wait to tell him the news.

A man entered, interrupting her thoughts and whispered something to Hammond. Hammond immediately got up, angrily, and yelled at Tony—telling him to follow him.

From inside the conference room, everyone watched as Hammond and Tony faced off, with Tony winding up handcuffed.

A sense of dread filled up in Michelle—she couldn't be living this all over again. She couldn't. No one should be asked to go through this twice.

She stood up but Bill and Jack both stopped her. Hammond came back in. "What did you do to Tony?" Michelle opened her mouth.

"He's a traitor."

"He's been pardoned."

"For saving you, yes." Hammond's eyes darkened. "But not for this."

"Not for what?" Jack demanded.

"Someone's been sending information most of the day to the terrorists. We found out about it about a half hour ago. Turns out that someone was Tony. He cost millions of lives today. There's no way he'll escape the firing squad this time." Hammond glared at Michelle.

Rendez. The name formed itself in Michelle's head. She knew what had happened; she just couldn't prove it. "You don't know for sure that it was Tony. He wouldn't-"

"A year can change a man, Michelle," Bill interrupted softly. "You should know that better than anyone."

Michelle shook her head. "No." and with that she ran out the conference door and outside to where the guards were preparing to take Tony away. "Wait!"

Tony stared at Michelle as she came running towards him—she looked like she was in so much pain and he couldn't do anything about it. "Michelle-"

"I know you Tony. You didn't do this. You couldn't have."

"A year can change a man."

"Don't you dare shut me out Tony. It's not going to work this time." She hugged him. "It was Rendez."

Tony's head shot up. "Rendez?"

Michelle nodded. "I can't prove it yet but I will with or without these idiots here at CTU. Stay strong for me Tony. Please."

Tony looked at her. "How?"

She knew he wasn't asking about being strong but before Michelle had a chance to respond one of the guards came up, "It's time to go."

Michelle nodded at them then pulled Tony in for a kiss. "I love you Tony," she whispered then he was gone.


	2. chapter 2, a plan that didn't get a chan...

Chapter 2, a plan that didn't get a chance

A couple minutes later, Michelle made a decision. She knew that given the circumstances, no one would believe her or listen to her until their heads had been cooled down. Which, at the moment, didn't seem like it would be any time soon.

Even Jack didn't seem to be of any help. It was like they were all prepared to make Tony as guilty as sin. Michelle couldn't stand it. She had expected more from everyone that had been under his command. She expected more from Jack.

Thinking about Jack must have made him appear because he happened to be walking towards her at just that moment. "Michelle-"

"You can't honestly believe that Tony did this."

"No, I don't." Michelle sighed in relief. Hopefully she had an ally. "There's got to be some other explanation other than Tony," Jack continued, "but right now I don't know what that is and Hammond's not budging."

"Hammond's an asshole," Michelle responded causing Jack to laugh.

"Now that's the truth."

Michelle couldn't help but feel a little relieved. "So are you on board with me?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Well, you did attempt to stop me from following them," Michelle pointed out.

"You didn't look too stable back there. Bill and I both thought that you were going to faint. Seeing Tony taken away like that…," Jack let his voice trail off.

"I know. The past repeating itself. So you're on board. I can count on you."

Something in Michelle's tone made Jack narrow his eyes. "You know who did this." It wasn't a question.

"I can't prove it just yet but yes. I'm going to leave here in a couple of minutes. There's a corner in Westwood where certain people hang out at night—close to campus. You know where I'm talking about?" Jack nodded. "Meet me there at 1 a.m."

Michelle started to say something then closed her mouth and opened it again. "Bill."

Jack turned to see Bill and Hammond.

"I'm sorry Michelle," Bill said.

Hammond continued, "Given the circumstances, we think that you should go home until we sort this out." When Michelle opened her mouth, Hammond put up his hand. "I know you didn't have anything to do with this; however, we—I, think you're too close to this. I know you kissed Tony just before he was taken away."

Jack tired to keep a level face but couldn't help sneaking a look at Michelle from the corner of his eyes. Would the woman ever cease to surprise him? Somehow he doubted it and not for the first time, he was glad that Tony had her in his corner whether he knew it or not.

Michelle pretended to be angry which Jack was able to see right through. He had to stifle a laugh by pretending to cough. Finally, Michelle said she would go home if that's what everyone thought was best. She left CTU a couple minutes later.

On the other side of town, Tony was lost in thought. He hadn't expected Michelle to ever kiss him like that again. A part of him had hoped and he wouldn't lie to himself—he had kissed her back. It had killed him that he couldn't hold her.

And when she had told him that she loved him, he thought he was going to break. He didn't want to address those feelings right now. It brought back so much from the past. He didn't know if he could go back there. He wanted to but he didn't want to take the chance that he would be hurt—that she would leave him again.

That afternoon/early evening, Michelle decided to take a long hot shower before getting to work. She put on her computer and started a scan then hopped in the shower.

Next thing she knew a shot rang out, shattering her window. She ducked down and reached for her gun but not before she felt something hit her head and the world went black.


	3. chapter 3, the confession

Chapter 3, the confession

When Michelle opened her eyes, she noticed that she was now fully clothed and in a warehouse—it was about 730/8. She guessed because it wasn't quite dark yet but almost. She was fully handcuffed and saw that there was a video camera on her. She didn't see anyone and was having trouble moving her hands. There was no way she was going to get herself out right now so she would just have to wait and see what her captors had in store for her.

Meanwhile, a man approached Tony in his cell. He had one of those faces and builds that could and would blend in with anyone. Average, not that noticeable, which was exactly why he had been chosen to go see Tony.

"My employer wanted me to show you something." He picked up his cell and made a call. "We're live." Then he showed Tony his phone so he could see what was "live".

Tony's heart broke when he saw Michelle. "What do you want?"

"Asking so soon?" the man laughed. "We haven't even showed you anything yet."

"I know. Seeing as you're here, the cameras are turned off and I bet that no one is going to remember seeing you here, I ask you again, what do you want?"

"My employer wants you to sign a full confession." The man pulled out a folder from his briefcase. "Once you've been assigned your sentence, she'll be let go. The question is—will she be alive and unharmed. That's up to you."

Tony didn't hesitate, "I'll sign it."

The man laughed again.

"You find something funny?"

"My boss was right. You must really love her because," he added after Tony had signed the paper work, "you just signed your death warrant."

"She won't be harmed."

"Not a hair on her head—unless she tries something."

Michelle felt the tears come to her—again Tony was willing to put his life on the line to make sure she was safe. Even after she had left him. The men she was with laughed and commented how their boss would be happy. Michelle made a promise that she would find a way to escape, free Tony and kill their boss herself.

Back at CTU, Bill called Jack into his office. Jack felt his stomach go a little uneasy as he took in the triumphant look on Hammond's face. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Tony just signed a full confession," Bill said.

Hammond smiled. "They're going to electrocute him tomorrow."

"What!" Jack exploded. "He had to have been put up to it."

"He asked for the attorney. Everything is settled," Hammond replied.

"Does Michelle know?"

"We have her on hold right now," Bill looked at him. "She wanted to talk to you. You understand that we have to monitor it right?"

Again, Jack felt uneasy—like he was being set-up but he had no idea what for or what to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4, Plan B

Chapter 4, Plan B

"Michelle-"

"Jack, I guess you heard."

"Yeah, where are you?"

"In my car—on my way to the airport. I need to be alone for a couple of days."

"You won't be there tomorrow." Jack felt his temperature rise.

"I can't. It's just so hard. About what I said before Jack—Tony signed those papers because he didn't have a choice. Somewhere underneath it all, he's still a good guy and he didn't want me to suffer anymore. I have to respect that. CTU has already given me a couple of days off. I'll be somewhere in the Caribbean—letting loose and going from corner to corner, shopping. Somehow, I'll be O.K."

Jack smiled inwardly—he had understood what Michelle was telling him—but still looked pissed for good measure. "Call me when you get to the Caribbean. Let me know you're O.K."

Michelle laughed. "I don't need you to go all big brother on me."

"I've always been big brother to you Michelle and it's not going to stop. So call me when you arrive at the airport. I want a report on the weather."

"Yes, sir."

Jack hung up the phone, looked at both Bill and Hammond and left.

Previously, Michelle was being uncuffed and led into a car. Using the video equipment that had been used to show her to Tony, they let Michelle see that they still had someone watching Tony. If Michelle didn't cooperate, they said, they would kill him.

So Michelle had insisted that she had to talk to Jack personally otherwise he would know that something was wrong. She had and was thankful to that higher power that Jack had picked up on her cues, giving her a chance to call back in a couple of hours. That, hopefully, would prevent them from killing her, as she knew they were going to do regardless of what had been promised to Tony. She had seen their faces after all.

Jack walked over to Audrey. "I'm taking off. Tony just signed a confession."

"Jack-"

"Michelle's leaving the country. She's not even going to be in town for when they kill him. I need a drink."

"Jack-"

"Call me tonight when you get off." He kissed her on the cheek and left CTU.

As soon as he was home, Jack called Chloe who was preparing to leave herself.

"Hello?"

"Pretend I'm one of your girlfriends," he ordered.

"Rachael. How are you?"

"Not good. I suppose you heard about Tony?"

"Yeah, it's been a long day."

"Michelle's been kidnapped. I have some equipment at my place. I need you here—they both need you."

"I don't know. As I said before, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted."

"Chloe-"

She waited for a moment and counted to ten. "If you're sure that you can't get a hold of anyone else, I'll come over and you can tell me everything. But Rachael, you have to try to get a hold of some other people between the time we hang up the phone and I get there. I truly am exhausted."

"You're a lifesaver Chloe."

Chloe smiled. "What are friends for?" She hung up and sighed at Edgar. "One of my friends just got into a fight with her husband. Today'll seem like a day in the park compared to this."

She received a couple of laughs and left.

Jack started doing what he could while he waited for Chloe. He hated to involve her in this but at the moment she was the only one he knew who could help him help Michelle and Tony.


	5. Chapter 5, more allies

Chapter 5, more allies

Two hours later Jack and Chloe hadn't really gotten anywhere. It was almost midnight and they were running out of time. The men who had kidnapped Michelle were wearing masks when they weren't inside some place that the surveillance equipment could see in which Chloe had been able to hack into. They were scattered all over the city. Jack, accurately, had guessed that that had been done on purpose so that if someone tried to track Michelle, they wouldn't be able to find her.

"Jack," Chloe said. "I think I found something."

Just then Jack's cell phone rang, "Hello?"

"Jack, it's Michelle."

"Michelle, where the hell are you?"

"In a plane-a helicopter actually. Jack, everyone on board is dead—I didn't have a choice. I don't know how to fly this thing."

"You in the pilot's seat?"

"Yes."

"I'll talk you through it."

"Hold on a sec," Michelle said strapping herself in then the line went dead.

"Shit!" Jack turned to Chloe. "Chloe-,"

"I'm already on it."

Jack leaned in as the doorbell rang. "I'll stall whoever it is. Find out as much as you can."

"Will do."

Jack went to the door to find Audrey, Bill, and Hammond. "What's going on?"

"What are you up to Jack?" Hammond demanded, trying to force his way in.

"What do you mean?"

"Chloe's car is out front. What is she doing here?" Audrey asked.

"Jack!" Chloe shouted from inside. "I have control of the helicopter!"

Jack ran into his living room, followed by the others.

"What's going on here?" Bill demanded.

"Michelle's been kidnapped. She managed to kill her captors; however, now she's the only one who's on the helicopter, she doesn't know how to fly it and we lost contact. Where are you going to land her Chloe?"

"LAX."

Jack grabbed his stuff and started to leave.

"Jack-," Hammond started.

"I'm not on the clock right now Brian. Michelle knows who set Tony up. The only reason he signed that phony confession is because they had Michelle."

"How do you know that?" Bill demanded.

"Because Michelle told me. And there's someone at CTU who's involved."

"When did Michelle tell you?" Audrey asked.

"When I was on the phone with her being monitored." Hammond and Buchanan both looked at each other and said shit at the same time.

"What do you want us to do Jack?" Hammond straightened. If Jack was right, which he always was, then he didn't want Tony or Michelle's deaths on his hands.

"Nothing. There's still a couple of teams out there and whoever's running the show has to think that he still has Michelle. He did get someone into Tony, after all. Besides, we also need proof that Tony was set up. We do anything now, we'll tip off whoever is in charge and evidence could be destroyed. We don't have an option other than Michelle. That's why I need to go to LAX alone. Chloe, give me the coordinates so I can find Michelle."

A moment later, Jack was out the door, praying that Michelle was O.K.


	6. Chapter 6, Michelle and Tony

Chapter 6, Michelle and Tony

When Michelle's phone had disconnected, she got up and looked for a parachute or something that she could jump out of the plane with. That would be her only shot at surviving and saving Tony. She found two parachutes in the copter then it shifted and her instincts told her to go in the pilot seat. It was on auto pilot.

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief. Jack had come through for her. She waited and let her mind wander over what had happened since she had the time.

After she had gotten off the phone with Jack, the men had tied her up and gagged her. When she could see again, Michelle realized that they were on an airstrip. She was being loaded onto a helicopter and had that feeling that it wasn't going to be good.

The men holding her weren't that happy that they had to keep her alive and well. At least until she spoke to Jack again. They toyed with her though. Enough to scare her but not too much. They were smart enough to realize that she had to be strong enough to talk to Jack.

Once in the air, Michelle noticed that one of the men-in fact the one who was in the back seat with her-was attracted to her. She decided to take full advantage of that. He had untied her just a little but it was enough so that when the time was right, Michelle was able to grab his gun and fire. The other two men were dead soon there after.

Michelle had been shot in the leg but she couldn't worry about that right then. The helicopter was going down and she was the only one who could save Tony. She bided her leg quickly and that's when she had called Jack.

Now, all she was left with was the hope that it had been Jack who had put the helicopter on auto pilot and not someone else. She made sure that she had plenty of weapons, fully loaded, just in case.

In prison, Tony knew that he should be sleeping. That he should be saving his energy. But instead he had been pacing all night.

He couldn't get the thought of Michelle all tied up while a bunch of men leered at her and touched her. He knew that once he had signed the papers and been killed, they would rape, torture, and eventually kill her. But until he was dead, they couldn't touch her.

Tony didn't see that he had a choice. Michelle was strong. She would find a way out. Jack would know that something was wrong when she didn't show up in the morning and he would find her. Tony would be dead but Michelle would be alive. And in the end, that was all that really mattered. Michelle would go on living.

Still, he felt that she was in some kind of danger and there was nothing he could do about it. He loved her and would give up his life for her. There was no other alternative.

Tony continued to pace until it was time for the guards to bring him to his death. Only, the guards didn't come. It was Sam Rendez. Tony's eyes froze over. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a job here. I'm in charge, didn't you hear? I would have thought that you had by now. Michelle figured out everything. She's such a spirited woman. Wild cat. It'll be a shame when I have to kill her," he whispered as he set Tony down in the chair. "You honestly didn't believe that I would let her go, did you?"

Tony looked out—he couldn't say anything. His mouth had been gagged. But through the glass, he could see his family and everyone from CTU except for Michelle. Even Jack was there.

Inwardly, he felt empty but he wasn't about to let Rendez know that. Tony wasn't dead yet. And as long as he wasn't dead, there was still hope.

Rendez' phone rang. "Hello Miguel. I've been waiting for your call. We both have."


	7. chapter 7, the first sign of freedom

Chapter 7, The first sign of freedom

"I'm here," Tony heard the voice on the other line.

"You have Michelle?" Sam grinned wickedly at Tony.

"You bet your ass I do." Then Tony heard Michelle scream. It made him want to get up and throttle Sam-but he couldn't do that, not while he was tied to the chair about ready to be electrocuted.

He looked out and saw Jack hold his sister and his parents were holding onto each other, crying. He wanted to scream out to them but couldn't. Tony had never felt more helpless in his entire life and Rendez' next order confirmed just how helpless he really was.

"Go ahead and rape the living daylights out of her." Then Rendez leaned in and put/taped a microchip on Tony's shoulder—to the outside world it appeared that he was just being somewhat supportive. "So you can hear her scream while you die." With that Rendez left.

Jack felt his pager beep and he looked down. It was Michelle. He looked up and noticed that Rendez was gone. "Give me a minute Vanessa," he excused himself.

Tony saw him leave but didn't think anything of it—he could hear Michelle screaming. Suddenly it stopped and he felt himself die. Michelle would never be the same again—if she was alive and now he would be dead too.

He looked upward and silently prayed to God that he would die quickly. He closed his eyes and waited.

Then, he heard footsteps. Tony opened his eyes and saw Jack inside the staged area. Hammond, Bill and some other guards followed him.

As soon as the gag had been torn out of his mouth, Tony declared-"What the hell?"

"We know it was a set up Tony," Hammond said. Then mumbled an apology of sorts.

Tony still didn't quite understand but he let himself hope—"Michelle?"

"I'm right here." Tony glanced over at her, not daring to move. Had he died that fast? Had God granted him his wish and he hadn't even realized it?

Michelle could sense his disbelief so she ran to directly to him and held onto him.

Previously, Michelle had beeped Jack to let him know that she had gotten enough from Sam. At that point, Michelle got out of her car, heart-pounding praying she made it in time.

She had to trust Jack—that he would get to Tony while she got to Rendez. Michelle flashed her CTU ID and rushed in to where she needed to be.

She found Rendez and smiled at him in only the way a survivor could smile at her captor. It was, it felt, very freeing. She punched him in the face and nodded when she saw Chloe come up. "Arrest him." She shouted then Michelle ran to find Tony.

Michelle couldn't believe that he was in her arms again. He wasn't saying anything, which worried her, but at the same time she could feel his hands on her back, holding her tight and his head was buried in her chest. "It's real Tony, it's real," she tried to soothe.

Tony heard Michelle bust still didn't comprehend what was going on. He had been prepared to die. He had accepted his fate the moment he had heard Michelle stop screaming.

Finally, he looked up into her eyes and noticed that they were bringing tears but there was also so much love there. Without thought, he pulled her in for their first kiss in almost a year.


	8. Chapter 9, Michelle's doubts

Chapter 9, Michelle's doubts

Michelle felt the desperation in his kiss but she took as much as she gave. She needed to know that he was o.k. That he still loved her.

After a minute, they parted but still held on tight to each other.

"Antonio!" The two did part as his mother came running in and held onto him. Next thing Tony knew, he was surrounded by his family.

Michelle watched them all and felt the tears come to her eyes. She looked at his family and remembered how they had treated her, what she had lost because they didn't like her. Because she wasn't Latino.

And she didn't know if she could go through it again. As much as Michelle loved Tony—she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't.

Jack noticed Michelle leave and followed her. "Michelle?" When she stopped, he asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I can't do it Jack. I can't."

"Can't do what?"

"Tony's family. They hate me. They've always hated me. It got worse after he was sent to jail. And when he came back, I can't tell you how they made me feel, what they did to me. I love Tony, Jack. You know I do. But I won't ask him to choose between his family and me. And they're never going to welcome me. I can't do it. I can't."

"Come on Michelle. It's because of you that Tony's alive. That his name has been cleared. They have to see that."

"You don't understand Jack." Michelle's eyes filled with tears. "I can't have children anymore and it's because of them. It's because of them."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was pregnant Jack. There were complications and I wound up in the hospital. I called and left messages on the machine for Tony. The doctors did too," Michelle couldn't stop herself. "We tried getting a hold of his family and they never returned phone calls or messages. At 1:33, the doctors got a hold of Tony's mom. She told them that I wasn't family. That I never was. At 2:17, I lost the baby. At 7:21, I was told that I could never have children again."

"Michelle," Jack held onto her and let her cry.

"I can't do it again Jack, I can't."

"Sssh..," he tried to soothe her.

It was then that Tony came out. "What's going on?"

Michelle was too upset to hear him so Jack motioned for Tony to take his place. Michelle didn't even notice that Jack had handed her over to Tony until she felt Tony's hands in her hair. Michelle took a step back and looked into her eyes. "When-?"

"About five minutes ago. What's going on Michelle? Why'd you leave?"

Michelle could see the pain in his eyes and not being able to take it, she grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. Tony let her grab him and use him just as she had let him use her before.

"I love you," he whispered. It was then that Michelle stopped and stared at him. "I love you Michelle," he said again. "I never stopped loving you."

More tears started falling down Michelle's face. "Tony-,"

"What is it Michelle? Why were you sobbing in Jack's arms?" Michelle started crying all over again. "Hey, 'Chelle, it's alright. I'm here. I'm alive. We still love each other. We can be together again," Tony tried to soothe her.


End file.
